Trouble with Re-wiring

[Paul Normandin]

Hello,

I have an older camper which I am refurbing. My issue is the following: I have a 50 amp outlet at the rear off the trailer feeding my inside panel. Now all is fine when I plug in my 50 amp cable to the power source but if I use my 30 amp adapter at the power source, my outlets are getting 220v. Has anyone run into this or have any suggestions on what went wrong?

 

[Rene T]

Welcome to the forum.
I have limited experience with electricity but there many members here who will be able to help you out shortly. They’re probably still sleeping but check back here in just a bit and someone will chime in.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Sounds like one of the legs and neutral on the either the 50A socket or the pigtail are swapped. You can use a voltmeter to measure the wall socket first to see if that's correct. The terminal directly across from the ground pin is neutral, with the other two terminals being the 2 hot legs. If that looks OK then time to ring out the trailer pigtail to the breaker box.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[SeilerBird]

Do not plug in again until you have this figured out. 220 in an RV can ruin a lot of good electronics. What does your 30 amp adapter look like?

 

[Gizmo100]

It sounds like your plugging into a 30 amp 220 volt outlet...
The adapter is designed for a 30 amp 120 volt outlet.
But as SeilerBird stated don't plug it in until you fix it. Hopefully you have not damaged anything.

 

[Paul Normandin]

It sounds like your plugging into a 30 amp 220 volt outlet...
The adapter is designed for a 30 amp 120 volt outlet.
But as SeilerBird stated don't plug it in until you fix it. Hopefully you have not damaged anything.

Hello,
Thank you for your response. When you said: "It sounds like your plugging into a 30 amp 220 volt outlet."
you might be onto something. So I ran a 50 amp RV outlet at my garage. My trailer has a 50 amp receptical. So when I use my 50 amp cord all is good. So what I need to do is install a 30 amp RV outlet if I wanted to use an adapter on my 50 amp cord? Im trying to test all this at the house before going anywhere. My problem was thinking I could still use the 50 amp outlet and adapt to it. At least I think I got it.
Thank you all for the quick reply and help.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I am reading that you have two power sources at the house - A 50amp RV receptacle and some sort of 30 amp receptacle?

If that is the case the 30 amp source definitely needs to be a single phase 110V RV plug in. There are many threads about "creating" a 30 amp receptacle from a standardly wired house. It specifically requires a single leg 30amp circuit breaker.

 

[Paul Normandin]

Yes I have a 100amp service in my garage. I ran a 50amp rv receptacle off that but I think I need to run a separate 30amp rv receptacle if I want to only use 30 amp in my RV. I just want to be able to test both before going anywhere. My mistake was thinking I could adapt my cord to 30amp but I was wrong. I need both plug ins at the garage.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Yes - at home you need a separate 30 amp circuit.

However if you get a 50 to 30 amp adapter for your cord it will work at the RV park. Both 50a and 30a plug ins at the park are wired appropriately for standard RV AC supply.

 

[Paul Normandin]

Perfect! I really appreciate the help.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

but if I use my 30 amp adapter at the power source, my outlets are getting 220v.

The only way to get 220v from a 30A source is if it's a 220v outlet. RV 30A is 120 only, so don't try to connect to that outlet again. And pray you didn't already damage anything in your RV.

It's unfortunate that there are identical size/shape outlets for 30A/220v and 30A/120, so its possible to physically plug to the wrong voltage type. Don't connect to a 30A outlet without first being sure of its pedigree.

 

[Rob&Deryl]

Yes, the problem is a TT-30 looks kinda like the old style 3 wire Dryer outlets and can be forced in.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

If your 50A plug setup doesn't work right at home, I'd want to know why. If it's something wrong in the trailer wiring then you'll have the same problem at a campground or park.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM